Play Patrol - Bigjigs Rail Railway Station

15:40
Pippa Ainsworth
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We were very excited to receive our first Bigjigs parcel the day before we went on holiday and I almost had to prise Bud and LM's new toys from their hands ready to review on our return. Bud's first delivery saw him receive the Railway Station from Bigjigs Rail and I knew it would be an instant hit.

We're new to wooden train sets. Bud received his first sets at Christmas and I was really pleased to see how well he took to building his own tracks and playing with his trains upon them. Since then we've inherited some and added a few charity shop purchases to the bought sets and he has amassed a reasonable collection. It has become one of his favourite ways to while away an hour or two and I love how building tracks and playing with his trains has aided his imaginative play.

The Bigjigs Rail Railway Station is a solidly built building which has a length of track outside, allowing you to build it into a track layout and have trains stop and go at the station. It has a moveable barrier which can be put down to keep trains in the station then lifted to let them travel on their way, or you can use it as a terminus station and use the barrier as buffers. It measures 21cm wide so it's a striking addition to any track. The station is really solidly built and the painted station design carries over to both sides so you can have your passengers walk through from the booking office on to the platform. As with all Bigjigs Rail, it is fully compatible with all generic wooden railway so it doesn't matter which track you have in your collection, you can attach pieces to the beautifully crafted connectors on the track at the front of the station. The painted design is brilliant, from the roof tiles, to the station clock, ticket window and toilet doors!

All Bigjgs Rail packaging now features cutouts on the back of the box. The Railway Station has it's very own Station Master Sam ready to be cut out, assembled and put to work. These are an excellent feature and, if you visit the Kids Zone on the Bigjigs Rail website you can find some additional cutouts to add to your railways in the 'cut and play' section.

Bud is thoroughly enjoying adding the Bigjigs Rail Railway Station to his wooden railway play. It's definitely become a focal point for all of his track construction and has replace his bridges as the starting point for all of his tracks. Interestingly he will often play with the railway station on it's own, bringing toy people in to 'buy tickets' and interact with Station Master Sam, and stand on the platform. When he has it connected to the tracks it's all about how the trains approach the station, wait at the barrier and then get on their way.

From an educational perspective it's clear that wooden railway is having a really positive impact upon Bud. Laying out a track helps with dexterity, coordination and mathematics skills. It's so interesting to watch him puzzle out how to make a track connect up and add and remove different sections until it forms a circuit, even if he does get frustrated and ask for help sometimes. It seems that every time he plays with the track he tells a story, he knows where the train is going and who it will pick up or what the cargo is. It's a really creative, imaginative experience for him and I love listening to him. If his Dad or I join in, or other children do, he gives instructions for what your role is, what your train is doing and it's part in the storyline. It is a thoroughly imaginative experience.

It's hard to show Bud playing with the Railway Station in photos so here's a little video to show it more clearly, including another Bud song.

The Bigjigs Rail Railway Station has an RRP of £14:99 which I think is a reasonable price to pay for a sturdy, beautifully painted item. It's become a favoured toy here and I think should be a must for any little wooden railway fans. We would definitely recommend it.

Disclosure: We were sent the Railway Station as part of our role as Play Patrol agents, all opinions are honest and unbiased.